


Life Support

by mmadison



Category: The Society (TV 2019)
Genre: Addiction, Depression, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:29:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25903615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmadison/pseuds/mmadison
Summary: Harry, although struggling with demons of his own, starts to realise that Campbell’s new girlfriend isn’t as happy as he makes her out to be. He notices parts of himself in her - the sadness, the fear. He wants to help, he just isn’t sure how. Some think Harry knows Campbell better than everyone else does but even he couldn’t have anticipated this. What he does know is that Elle doesn’t deserve it and he starts to realise he’d do anything to protect her, even sacrifice himself.(Romantic or platonic relationship between Harry and Elle, I’m undecided, but this is an alternative storyline where Harry and Elle help each other with their struggles.)
Relationships: Campbell Eliot/Elle Tomkins, Elle Tomkins/Harry Bingham, Harry Bingham & Elle Tomkins
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> References to depression, addiction and abusive relationships, so please be aware if you’re sensitive to those topics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU where Harry and Elle start to see each other’s struggles and help each other. I just really liked the idea of them helping each other - I didn’t ship them in the show but I thought it would be a nice/interesting pairing, even if I do write it more platonic at first!

Harry could feel the heaviness in his eyelids, the dryness of his mouth, and the thickness of his head. He didn’t feel good. Only five months into this hellhole and he’d already formed an addiction, lost his girlfriend and isolated himself from everyone but his one trusted dealer. 

Campbell has always been an asshole, there was no doubt about that, but Harry would go anywhere for his fix these days. Even if it meant spending time with the resident psychopath. He dragged his feet up to the front door, despite having been instructed he wasn’t to come here and collect his contraband no matter what. Campbell made it clear he wanted this to be under the table. A secret. But when someone was as desperate as Harry and 10 missed calls into his pursuit, he decided he didn’t care about their secrecy rules. 

It wasn’t like there was anyone else around Campbell’s house apart from that girlfriend of his (Harry still didn’t know how Campbell managed that). Luckily, Campbell was the only one to keep a house to himself during this whole mess and Allie’s place was far enough away not to be an issue. Harry was jealous of his dealer in that way because maybe he could have been like Campbell and Elle if things weren’t so bad with Kelly.

He found himself outside the front door with tunnel vision. He just needed his next fix, whatever the cost. Forming his hand into a fist, he banged harshly onto the door. The door shook from the strength in his fist, giving even himself a fright from the noise he’d created. He continued on until he was sure someone was awake inside. “Campbell!” He yelled, stumbling backwards a few steps to see if any of the lights would come on. “Campbell!” 

Only an idiot or someone who wanted to die would wake Campbell in the middle of the night. Elle knew that. 

Her eyes snapped open at the very first bang, seeing the unconscious form of her boyfriend beside her. It took a couple more knocks to wake him, at which point she squeezed her eyes shut tightly to give the illusion of sleep. She didn’t want to be involved in this, though with a harsh shake of her shoulder she had to pretend to be brought to consciousness. Elle looked at Campbell in the darkness with fear in her eyes that only he would enjoy. “Who is that?” She asked. Her survival instincts started to kick in, even in her drowsy state, and she started moving in closer as though his nearness was comforting her. He would always protect her, he’d said. He liked to be her  _ protector _ . 

_ “Campbell!”  _

“Sounds like fucking Harry.” Campbell muttered, shaking his head. Angry would be an understatement as it dawned on him why the guy was here. Something in Campbell didn’t want Elle to know about his little drug business but the way her eyes shone with fear also made him want her to see him fighting off their current threat. She depended on him. She needed him. He kept her safe from everyone, even partly from himself. “Get up. Come on.” Campbell encouraged, getting up himself and grabbing a t-shirt to put on from a nearby drawer. 

Elle grabbed her cardigan on their way out of the bedroom, her eyes glistening wet. She never knew what Campbell was going to do. She never knew when he was going to do it either. Sometimes he didn’t even need a trigger… he just did things. All she could do was use her experience over the last few months to try and lessen the punishment. “Campbell?” She walked a bit quicker to catch up to him, snaking an arm around his. “Why don’t we just go back to bed? He’ll leave.” Elle was afraid Harry would make Campbell angry enough to lash out. She also thought pretending to be afraid of Harry might make him happy with her. Honestly? She still had no idea how to act around him.

He enjoyed her fear. He always did. 

“No.” Campbell smiled. “We’ll get rid of him, look.” He shook her hand off of his arm and neared the front door. About to yell out again, Harry looked surprised when the door actually opened. “What do you want Bingham?” Campbell asked with a sigh. “You’re scaring my girlfriend.”

Looking into the house past Campbell, Harry saw Elle for what must have been the first time in a month. He didn’t leave his house much and, when he did, he hadn’t bumped into her. In a town so small, that must seem strange. But it wasn’t. Elle spent most of her time indoors these days too. “Just give me what I came here for, Campbell, then I’ll go.” Harry promised. He didn’t want to scare anyone. He just wanted another pill. 

“Looks like you’ve already had what you need. Go home.” Campbell rolled his eyes. 

“No, man. I’m not going.” Harry sighed, eyes subconsciously travelling back to Elle again. She did look afraid. The circles around her eyes were dark, her eyes were glistening in the porch light, and her arms were hugging herself safely. He didn’t think he’d scare her so much with a bit of knocking. Harry thought she’d be tougher if she was living with this asshole, though he might be wrong. He just couldn’t imagine Campbell having this ‘soft side’ she claimed he had when he spoke to Kelly about him. “Just one and I’ll get the rest tomorrow. We had a deal.” 

Campbell laughed. “A deal that you wouldn’t come to my house.” A moment of silence followed, his expression turning sour. “So go the fuck home.” 

Seeing Elle curl into herself even more after Campbell’s threat, Harry sobered up a lot. There was nothing like thinking he was causing the sadness of a pretty girl to make him sober himself up and maybe see a bit of sense. “Fine, sorry… yeah, shit. I’ll go.” He nodded and stepped backwards slowly, which resulted in almost tripping and falling if he hadn’t had a tree to grip onto. “Tomorrow then.” He decided. 

><

For the first time in a long time, Elle was sitting in Church. It was Campbell’s idea but she was just glad to have ten minutes away from him and that house for the first time in a long time. She didn’t really have friends that wanted to hangout, which meant she really was alone with the boy causing her all of her current pain. Church was the perfect place to find strength to carry on. If she didn’t, Elle wasn’t sure how she’d do another five months of pretending like this. Her strength was running out. Helena’s service was nice but Elle stayed longer than that. She’d stay as long as she could until Campbell texted asking where she was. That was how he always summoned her back. She knew better than to keep him waiting. 

“Elle?” 

Her eyes darted up to the tall brunette standing beside her. Elle felt uncomfortable with his eyes on her like that but at least it was a friendly face. “Harry.” She greeted, making no attempt at shifting over to give him somewhere to sit, though it didn’t look like he needed an invitation. Harry climbed over the back of the bench to sit beside her, slumping into the seat. 

“I was looking for you… I wanted to apologise for last night. I was a real asshole.” Harry admitted. This was probably the first time he’d been out of the house in ages too. He spent most of his time in bed avoiding work and not eating. By the look of him, it showed.

Elle thought Harry looked as weak as she felt.

“You don’t have to apologise to me.” She promised. “Apologise to Campbell.”

“He said I scared you, though. So I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” Elle finally turned her head towards him, studying his face. He just looked tired. Or maybe more than tired. “Campbell said he gives you  _ ‘medication’ _ . I’m not stupid. It’s drugs, right?” She asked. She knew it wasn’t her business but anyone under Campbell’s thumb deserved to be released. She didn’t like thinking Harry was under it too. She wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Better her than some other poor girl, right? “You shouldn’t do that.”

“Nothing else to do around here.” Harry muttered.

“There’s loads.” Elle argued, met with a puzzled brow. “Movie night, dinners, Church. Thanksgiving is in a few weeks.” All things she should look forward to but Campbell made it impossible to do so. She didn’t look forward to hardly anything anymore, especially when she wasn’t allowed to take part in half of it. Not even her own movie nights. 

“You could sound more excited.” Harry told her. She wasn’t really selling the optimism she was trying to speak to him. “You sound as excited as I feel.” He teased. He was just trying to see her smile. Maybe a smile would make him feel off the hook for scaring her the previous night with his drug-crazed actions. It didn’t look like Elle was an easy girl to get smiling. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen her really happy since he saw her getting caught by Campbell in one of their biggest games of fugitive. They didn’t have time for games anymore, not that he was out of bed long enough to organise them. 

Turning her head towards Harry, the blonde almost let the corners of her lips curl upwards. Almost. “Campbell likes staying at home, that’s all.” She inhaled slowly, tugging her sleeve further down her wrist. The door of the Church opened and she turned back quickly, frightened it might be Campbell coming to get her. It wasn’t. It was Sam. 

Harry watched Elle closely, closer than he’d watched anyone for a while. “Why so jumpy?” He asked. 

The girl forced the same smile she gave Campbell all too often. The fake, bright, happy smile. “I’m not.” She insisted. “But I should go, I need to get mine and Campbell’s rations to make dinner.” They didn’t even eat with the others anymore. “Don’t worry about last night, okay? Just… try and stop taking whatever he’s giving you.” Elle understood why Harry wanted to escape everything, even for just a minute. The ability to forget, to go numb, to be happy… Elle would take that chance too. She saw some of herself in Harry when she met his eyes. He was just as terrified as she was and just as sad too, maybe sadder. 

Harry shrugged, slumping further in the seat. He looked out of place in the Church and he felt it too. “Easier said than done.” He yawned. At least he got to see her smile, which was all he’d really wanted. It was a pretty smile too, so he wished she’d let people see it more. Then again, there wasn’t much to smile about in this world. “Want me to walk you?” He offered. 

“No, I’ll be fine.” Elle stood up. “See you later.” 

Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn’t, but Elle wasn’t finding any comfort seeing there was someone else here struggling just as much as her. She hoped Harry got back on his feet soon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading if you got this far! If you like it, let me know so I know whether to continue. I just really want to see Elle and Harry getting the help they need/deserve and without season two, I’m writing it myself haha.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so gutted that season two was cancelled, it makes me want to write this alternative ending for Elle even more! Thanks for giving this a read!

The sun rose. The sun set. Harry hadn’t seen the true light of day in at least 24 hours and he hadn’t been outside in even longer than that. He had everything he needed in his bedroom. There wasn’t any food but he wasn’t eating anyway. He was wasting away and taking advantage of the little pot of pills he got from Campbell the previous morning. After he spoke to Elle at the Church, he went to Campbell to get his ‘medication’. Since then, he hadn’t left his room. What was the point? This whole thing was pointless.  _ Life  _ was pointless. No threats of his rations being cut or his privileges being taken away were going to get him out of bed. He reached lazily towards his bedside table, where a bottle of water was sitting just out of his reach. “Fuck.” He whispered, moving up a bit on the mattress to reach out again. His fingers brushed it but they still didn’t get a good enough grip. 

“Jesus, Harry. You look pathetic.” 

“Hmm?” Harry turned towards the door, squinting to make out the silhouette towering above him. It was the varsity jacket he noticed first. “Clark.” He muttered. 

“Allie sent us over.” 

_ Us _ , meaning Harry had more than one asshole to deal with. The Guard wouldn’t stop bothering him. He wished they’d give up. He groaned when he felt his blankets being ripped from his body, his hand reaching out but being unable to grab it in time. “Leave me alone.” He sighed. “I don’t care, alright? Take the food. Whatever you want.” 

Clark wasn’t happy about making his third trip here in a week but Allie was determined to maintain order and having someone skipping work this much wasn’t setting a good example. “You need to go to work. What’s up with you, man?” 

There was no way he was going to work and he told them as much. That was all he told them until he found his way to his blanket, pulling it up to his shoulders. “I’m tired.” He sighed heavily. All he wanted was to be left on his own. No one cared about him. The only person he ever had to care about him was Kelly and even she was done with him right now. It was funny how the only visitors he’d had were either Campbell, who wanted something, or the Guard, who were only following their leader’s orders. Harry’s eyes closed slowly. It was clear he didn’t plan on opening them. The Guard gave up sometime after that, though they did give him a ‘final warning’ about going to work the next day. He didn’t even know what a ‘final warning’ could be in a place like this. It wasn’t like they could fire him. They’d already taken everything from him, so he didn’t think there was any worse than what his life was like right now. 

><

Elle sat at the piano with her damp, blonde hair tucked behind her ears. One thing that she couldn’t complain about living here was the piano but she’d give it up in a heartbeat to go home, or to live with one of the others. Her fingers brushed over the piano keys slowly, finding their rightful place to start another piece. She’d taken lessons as a kid and she could still play pretty well, if she did say so herself. Her parents always loved to hear her play. 

Midway through, she heard the front door open and she stopped abruptly. It always pained her not to completely finish but it was yet another thing she was getting used to. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she heard Campbell moving through the house. He knew where she was, so it didn’t take long for him to find her. Sometimes he walked slower than usual to mimic a predator stalking its prey.

“The Guard were at Harry’s house again.” He told her as he neared her, a concerned look on his face. He thought Harry knew better than to give him up to Allie and her minions but he couldn’t be entirely sure. Of course, his concern was nothing to do with Harry’s wellbeing. It was to do with himself.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Elle forced a smile, standing up from the piano. She was finished for the night anyway. 

“It better be nothing.” 

Seeing him near her, the girl remained as calm as she could. Even as his arms wrapped around her shoulders, she never felt completely at ease or safe. One wrong breath and it could all change, so she just took the peaceful moments as much as she could. Her arms wrapped around his middle, though she couldn’t hug too tightly without wincing. “I heard some girls talking at the cafeteria, I don’t think he’s been going to work.” Elle admitted, hoping to prevent Campbell from spiralling at the possibility the Guard were going to find out about him handing out drugs. As good as it would be for her if he got locked up for drug dealing, she didn’t want to be involved in the fallout in the meantime. 

Campbell hummed quietly, stroking his girlfriend’s slightly damp hair. “Good.” 

A knock on the door startled the both of them, making Elle wince from the way Campbell’s arm brushed against hers. If they had any pain medication left then she’d have taken it by now. Unfortunately, she’d already cleaned out their medicine cabinet over the past few months. She watched the boy walk to the front door, peering through the window to see who it was. The Guard. They didn’t have much choice but to open up and pretty soon, Clark, Jason and Luke were all standing in their living room. 

“Can we help you?” Campbell asked, curling his hand around Elle’s wrist to pull her onto the couch with him. He wouldn’t say he was worried about what they were going to say but he definitely wasn’t comfortable having Allie’s minions hanging around. When they agreed to back him and Harry up, that’s when he’d start caring about what they had to say.

“Maybe you can.” Clark spoke up. “You’re Harry’s friend. You need to make him get out of bed.” 

Lounging back on his couch, Campbell laughed in amusement. “And why should I do that?” 

Clark rolled his eyes. “Do it or don’t, Campbell. I honestly don’t give a shit but Allie’s on our asses about it. He’s not going to work and he’s not eating. His rations are already at bare minimum.” He shook his head. “You’re pretty much the last resort.” His words might not have been resonating with the resident psychopath but they were being heard by someone else. Elle heard him loud and clear, feeling her stomach clench. She’d never particularly been Harry’s friend but he was one of very few people that talked to her now. He was nice to her and her boyfriend wasn’t very nice to him. 

“Harry’s a big boy, he can do what he wants.” Campbell dismissed. “Shut the door on your way out.” He smirked. He was selfish and as awful as it was, having Harry broken down and a shell of himself was actually good for him. It made him easier to manipulate when he eventually took the power from Allie. All Campbell needed was a face. He was going to be the brains. Just like the Guard had no luck with Harry, it didn’t look like they were going to get any luck with Campbell either. They were going back to Allie with bad news, which wasn’t good, but Campbell clearly found amusement in it. He was an asshole to everyone, not just his girlfriend.

><

After hearing about the state Harry was in, Elle couldn’t stop thinking about it. Being someone who was struggling a lot herself, she didn’t want to see him fall down too. In the beginning, she actually thought Harry was one of few people that would survive this unscathed. Clearly she’d been wrong. He wasn’t as strong as he pretended to be. After another of Helena’s Church services, Elle started to wonder if there was a way to make it to Harry’s house unseen. If Campbell found out then he might be angry, or at the very least confused. He’d surely demand an explanation as to why she was sniffing around his friend and right now she couldn’t think of a very good excuse. Elle just wanted to check on him, that was all. If what Clark said was true then Harry was probably hungry and maybe even depressed. Taking a glance at the time on her phone, Elle stood up. She would usually spend her next hour or two of freedom in the Church praying for strength or guidance but it couldn’t hurt to use her time differently just this once. She knew she was possibly putting her one bit of independence from Campbell on the line but she didn’t want to be selfish right now. She wanted to help Harry. If Campbell decided to lock her in the house and throw away the key after this, then at least she wouldn’t be worrying about Harry as much anymore. She’d feel like she did something. 

Elle didn’t pass anyone on her way out or when she walked in the direction of Harry’s home. There weren’t many people on the streets, though she went a longer way to avoid people. It worked until she got to the house itself. There were clearly a lot of people using Harry’s house, which he didn’t like. It made Elle worried that she could be identified by the people inside but at the same time, it meant she could blend in. She pulled the hood of her hoodie over her head, zipping up the jacket as far as it would go. She tucked her hair in at the top and made her way to the front door. 

The door was unlocked, so she let herself inside and went straight for the stairs. If anyone was in the house, they wouldn’t recognise her with her hair and face concealed as much as she could manage. When she reached Harry’s bedroom, she slipped inside quietly and shut the door behind her. Just as an extra precaution, she flicked the lock. It must have caught the boy’s attention. Out of the way of prying eyes, Elle unzipped her hoodie and removed the hood from her head.

“Elle?” Harry’s voice was rough and thick with sleep, his eyes looking like he’d seen better days. There was only one blonde girl he could think of that pulled off a floral blouse like that.

Turning around, Elle properly revealed herself to Harry. “Hey.” She greeted him. 

“Did Campbell send you?” He sighed. 

“No.” Elle approached the bed slowly, watching him curiously. “It’s better if he doesn’t know I came, actually. He’d just worry.” She explained, trying to be as innocent as she could in asking Harry to keep this a secret. She didn’t want him to get suspicious. “I heard from Clark that you weren’t feeling well.” 

“So Clark sent you to try and get me out of bed?” Harry scoffed. 

It didn’t seem like he was too impressed with Elle being there but she just wanted to see if he was okay. She wasn’t there to drag him out of bed. “No, he wanted Campbell to come actually.” She admitted and went to take a seat on the bottom end of the bed. She crossed her legs, putting her backpack in her lap. “Cheese okay?” She asked, taking out a tupperware container with a cheese sandwich inside. Unclipping the sides, she pulled out half for herself and then pushed the container towards the boy. 

Although Harry was pretty sure he knew what Elle was doing, she didn’t do it in an embarrassing way. She wasn’t forcing him to eat, only offering half of what she had. “You don’t want it?” 

“I had a big breakfast.” Elle admitted, taking a bite out of her half. She hummed, nodding to show her approval of the taste. It was pretty good. She knew by the look on his face that he probably thought she was trying to sell the sandwich to him, so she played up to it a bit more. “Wow, you really need to try this.” She joked, giving him a knowing smile. It was enough to make Harry’s lips curl upwards and for his hand to reach out and pick up the half of the sandwich offered to him. 

Taking a bite, the boy exaggerated a hum of approval. “Yum.” He chuckled. He was hungrier than he thought, managing to finish off the sandwich. The kitchen really did a good job with the homemade bread, he had to admit. He hated to admit Allie was doing an alright job as leader when he knew he should’ve been up there from the start with Kelly by his side. If anything, the way the world was now had only shown him one thing. He didn’t have anyone. The only visitor he’d had that actually seemed to care was Elle. He noticed there was something a bit off with her, though. She kept glancing at her phone and checking something, either the time or her messages. “Expecting a call?” He asked curiously, raising his eyebrows at her when she looked away from the screen long enough to see him. 

Elle was waiting for a call. She was waiting for Campbell to summon her home. “No.” She shook her head. “But I should go soon. I can come back tomorrow after Helena’s service in the Church.” She offered. “Or you could come too? It helps.” 

“Helps what?” Harry asked. 

It was a harder question than Elle anticipated. “I don’t know. It makes me feel like I can keep going.”

If what Elle said was true, Harry thought he could do with some of Helena’s words. He didn’t promise he’d see her there but he did look like he was considering it. That was good enough for Elle but she couldn’t stay around to convince him any longer. Her phone lit up with the dreaded text from Campbell asking her where she was. She picked up the device quite quickly, afraid to leave him waiting. “Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.” She forced the smile she gave Harry on her way out. It was hard to smile and mean it when she was terrified she’d take a second too long to get home. 

Harry was going to say he hoped to see her too but she was gone before he had the chance. She disappeared, leaving Harry wondering about what text she received and why it made her run out like that. Maybe he’d find out tomorrow at Church. It would be his first time out of bed in a long time.


End file.
